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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23701609">Addicted</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurei16/pseuds/Kurei16'>Kurei16</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ozzy and Thrax [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Osmosis Jones (2001)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Ending, M/M, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 06:00:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,280</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23701609</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurei16/pseuds/Kurei16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Ozzy and Drix got in Hector Ozzy started to act different. He was normal during his fights and actions, working as a detective, but when there was nothing to do he seemed sad. Drix knew why and wasn't sure if it's better that way or not.</p><p>There was no time for him to decide once the virus found them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones/Thrax</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ozzy and Thrax [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710982</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Addicted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It's year 2020, it's quarantine time, and I'm here writing Osmosis Jones fanfiction. This is somehow hilarious and terrifying to me.</p><p>I wanted it to be more dramatic, more emotional and less out of character but for a oneshot that took me half of the day it have to be enough. It's pretty much an introduction to something that could be an au in which Thrax gets to live after the end of the movie but welp, I know myself. I probably won't do more. We'll see tho!</p><p>Enjoy yourself, you poor, lost soul that also got back into this terrible, terrible movie.</p><p>Btw I blame @satanasss666 on tumblr for that</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ozzy acted wrong to the point even Maria had noticed. For Drix it was nothing out of ordinary. Just another easier week, without much work to do. And that's what he told Maria as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Jones always seemed like workaholic to me but… damn," she said and seemingly dropped the topic. Drix knew she was still worried, it was way too obvious, but didn't mention it. He knew from experience Ozzy will get better once he will have something to focus on. It may not be healthy, it may not be good, but it was how it was since they ended up in Hector and Drix really had no idea what to do anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the usual till the moment Ozzy stood in their office, with that gloomy, sour expression that didn't leave his face since few days and announced:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm leaving Hector."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drix's stomach, if he had one, would probably fall all the way to his bottom. He looked dumbfounded at Ozzy for a good minute before cracking a nervous smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is that a joke, Ozzy?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's not." Ozzy moved to the chair standing by the desk and sat, or more like flopped down on it. "I can't just… wait around like that anymore. I need to go back to Frank, to, to-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"To wait around some more in there?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jones send a frowny look to Drix, making the pill sigh. Drix crossed arms over his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ozzy, it's been, what? Three months? Since we came here? And you really come back to this topic over and over again? You can't make it back to Frank, you can't even spend a minute outside of a body, let alone travel for who knows how long." Drix made sure he doesn't show irritation, but he was irritated a lot. This topic was something he hated to talk about. "Why are you so stubborn about him anyway? You know this way is a lot better for you, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I… don't know. I just-" Jones bit his lip, groaned and hide face in his hands. "I feel so hollow this way."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drix wasn't sure how to answer. It was a scrap of new information, honestly. Ozzy never ever talked about the way he felt, everything just seemed to go unnoticed by him, but Drix was aware it wasn't the truth. They just never talked about it and Ozzy had his own ways to copy. The fact that he decided to share his feelings was somehow worrying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's like you're addicted," slipped from the pill's lips before he could stop himself. It was the truth. In the moments like that Ozzy looked like addicted. He didn't sleep, he barely ate. He just walked around like a ghost, searching for a fight or another case he could focus on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jones looked up at Drix and was silent for a moment, before standing up and grabbing his jacket. "I need a breath," he said. It wasn't malicious. It was tired and unsettling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ozzy-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry. I won't jump bodies without a bye."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy waved at Drix and left him with a sour taste in his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe Drix was right. Maybe he was acting stupid, maybe he should just move on and forget about everything that happened before they got into Hector. But…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy just couldn't stop thinking about Thrax like that. About whatever that piece of shit was doing, who was he killing right now, was he wondering where did Ozzy vanish? Did he come back to Frank after Ozzy and Drix were moved and got pissed when he couldn't find the white cell? Oh Ozzy hoped he didn't hurt anyone in there, including Frank himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was he searching for him? Was he wondering "where did Osmosis go"? Did he have the same low moments as Ozzy did or was Ozzy just an idiot that couldn't stop thinking about an unfeeling virus that liked to play around with him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was driving him mad. All those unanswered question. All this waiting. This hollow feeling inside of his body, as if there was a hole sucking in all of his insides every time he thought about never seeing that ugly face again, never feeling the rush of adrenaline when seeing him, never feeling that wild energy that came all around Ozzy when Thrax showed up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The work gave it to him, of course. That’s why he could stop thinking about Thrax when he was busy. Running around, trying to save the body even though the danger was usually mediocre, it was a nice illusion. He knew other cells took him as too erratic because of that, always jumping into action without the second thought, but it wasn’t like he could change it. It helped him. It was therapeutic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course Ozzy understood why Drix hated this topic, the idea of Thrax finding them, in this body, in a body of a child. The thought of risking Hector’s life just so Ozzy could feel a little bit less down was stupid and selfish. That’s why he thought about leaving Hector so many times. Still, Ozzy never could go through with it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The City of Hector was no fun in times like this. He was young, healthy, there weren’t much of places where Ozzy could just go and get wasted. In most of those he was already known as a detective and he really fucking hated the idea of having to disguise himself just to have a sad drink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jones was sitting in one of those few bars, for once unbothered, when his communicator rang. He picked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Sup?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Ozzy?” Drix sounded… worried. And unsure. Ozzy frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ye?” Ozzy didn’t really feel like talking. But if his friend sounded worried he was up to help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a silence from Drix’s side for a moment, that started making Jones worried as well. When Drix finally spoke Ozzy felt something swell inside of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He… found us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy tried to keep calm. “Who?” he asked, his breath shaking a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know who.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy jumped up from his sit, tossing some coins on the counter and grabbing his jacket. “I’ll be right back,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ozzy, he’s wounded, badly. I don’t know-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be right back,” repeated Jones, this time a little harsher, and ended the call.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jones was pretty sure he set some kind of record with getting from a feet to head. He was wheezing badly when he got into the lift in their building. He was… excited. And terrified. Again full of energy, full of the need to do something. His insides were trembling, his </span>
  <em>
    <span>outside</span>
  </em>
  <span> was trembling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drix was waiting for him outside of their office. He was obviously nervous. When he saw Osmosis he tried to smile, but it worked out terribly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ozzy-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jones slipped past his friend and inside their place. He spotted a big, sharp silhouette, laying on his bed, immediately and froze in the middle of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was it really </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Every single instinct told Jones it was Thrax. That it was this big, deadly virus, laying in his bed, breathing so weakly it was almost unnoticeable. Jones wanted to go closer, to touch him, to make himself sure this is real, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move from his spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s cuffed to the bed,” noticed Ozzy and jerked a little, hearing his own voice. It sounded weird.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course he is. And I froze his hand too,” said Drix, entering the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy wanted to get angry about it, but honestly, he could understand. And anyway he couldn’t even move a finger right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” started Drix again. “Uh, okay. I also called Maria.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That made everything Ozzy managed to eat this day jump up to his throat. He turned around rapidly, glaring daggers at Drix.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s dangerous Ozzy, what was I supposed to do? Just leave him be? What if he’s playing weak just to fool us?” Drix raised his voice a little bit before sighing, massaging the spot between his eyes. “She promised to come here alone. Chief Gluteus doesn’t know a thing. I wouldn’t call police at someone in his state, even if that’s him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy chewed on his tongue before relaxing a little bit. He looked back to the silhouette on his bed and shifted his feet. He didn’t know why but suddenly he wanted to be alone with Thrax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drix seemed to catch his thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll wait for her outside,” he smiled and this time it wasn’t forced. Still nervous, but genuine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Drix left the room Jones jumped to his bed. He saw that face, resting, tucked under the cover. He smiled a little, realizing that even despite what Drix said, how much against all of this he was, he couldn’t just leave Thrax be. He probably patched him up too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not knowing what to do with his hands Ozzy put one over Thrax’s face, feeling his warm skin, his sharp edges, his breath. He looked beaten up but he looked alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jones sighed and sat down on the floor, by his bed. He rested his head over the mattress, looking on the ceiling. He was glad. Still terrified, still anxious as fuck, but he was also glad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria arrived pretty fast. Drix wasn’t surprised, he was sure he sounded shaken when talking with her. That’s probably also why she looked so nervous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?!” she yelled before even getting closer to Drix. “What’s about all this don’t tell the chief stuff?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drix raised his hand, trying to calm the she-cell. “I can explain, just… you just have to promise you won’t get angry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t promise if you say it like that.” She stood next to Drix, putting hands over her hips. Drix brushed back of his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… it’s about Ozzy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The little smirk vanished from Maria’s face immediately. She looked at the door behind Drix and again at the pill. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drix didn’t know how to start. He didn’t want Maria to come in and see a virus in their room without any background. But that background still wasn’t the nicest thing she could ever hear about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally Drix sighed. He had to tell her. He pointed to the bench standing by the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to sit down for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria looked unsure for a moment but did so. She sat down, observing Drix with curiosity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room was dark and the only source of light was the street and a tiny, yellow line under the door. Ozzy didn’t move from his spot, listening to how Drix spilled everything to Maria.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back in Frank… me and Ozzy met because a virus was causing some problems. Well, everyone thought it’s just a regular cold, only Ozzy caught up on what was actually happening. That virus managed to steal Frank’s DNA bead from hypothalamus gland-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Temperature control?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. He managed to steal it and leave the body. But Ozzy went after him. It was amazing, I shoot him outside of Frank’s mouth, into air, right into that virus. Later Ozzy told me how they fought and Ozzy retrieved the chain the bead was in and returned home in last second. He thought the virus died but…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drix made a pause and Jones could only imagine his sour expression. He, himself, could very well remember that time. After everything went back to normal he got bored. He couldn’t forget how great it was to run after Thrax, to be in action. The fear, the adrenaline, it all was something he missed so badly. That’s why he couldn’t get rid of the chain he got from Thrax, despite Drix’s insists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Few weeks later we learned that that virus didn’t die. Mostly because he came back into Frank and openly attacked us. There was no planning from his side, no cold calculation he showed before. Just a scruffy, mad virus attacking us because he wanted his chain back. And I’m pretty sure there was also something about the revenge, but it didn’t seem real. Of course we disarmed him easily. I wanted to immediately bring him to the police but Jones, ugh, he left me and vanished with the virus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy chuckled bitterly. Drix still was angry about that and Ozzy agreed it wasn’t the smartest decision he could make. But he wasn’t really thinking logically back then. He just wanted the excitement of chasing Thrax back. He managed to hide himself and the virus well for few days and, well, even Drix didn’t know what happened during this time. Ozzy worried that the poor, prude pill wouldn’t take it well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea what happened later, again, because Ozzy refuses to tell me, but once he came back the virus was gone and he was back to normal. No moping around, no sighing every five minutes. Just a regular Ozzy I met weeks before. What was… interesting, though, it was that the chain didn’t vanish with the virus. Ozzy still had it and never left it behind. I didn’t yet know why was it and I wasn’t even suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Few weeks later Ozzy was again back to being… you know. Depressed. The way he’s been lately, the way he is when there’s nothing to do around. And, as if they were connected in some way, the virus came back again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That made Ozzy smile a little. He still could remember how damn nervous he was. He didn’t know if Thrax will really come back. But he did. And it was again a lot of fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since then it started to be regular. Ozzy was getting depressed, the virus was coming back, they were vanishing for few days and Ozzy came back fresh and ready to work. Even the chief started acting like he didn’t see what’s going on, probably happy he doesn’t have to worry about Ozzy for a while. The virus didn’t attack Frank, it was going well actually, till that mosquito transferred us. You know what happened later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The corridor got quiet for a moment. Ozzy tensed, waiting for the door open and Maria to jump inside with her gun up. It didn’t happen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He… did want to go back to Frank badly. But I thought that, you know, he just really liked his old city.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that too. His family worked in Frank for generations. And I think he was also worried Thrax will go mad and kill Frank, unable to find Ozzy and his chain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thrax?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Yeah. The virus’ name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah… so, did you call me here because…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a shuffling outside before Ozzy heard a thud. He jumped up, on his legs, hand landing on his holster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria barged through the door, Drix right behind her. She stood there, her eyes lustering the dark room, before falling on Jones and his bed. She froze, as much as Ozzy. He didn’t want to point his gun at his friend, but he also didn’t want to risk losing Thrax </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ozzy,” she said slowly, “step away from that bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or what? Will you shot me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it means Hector will be save then maybe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-okay, okay, let's all calm down,” begged Drix still standing behind Maria. “Thrax is wounded and passed out anyway. He can’t hurt anyone this way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Means it’s easier to get him out of the body.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t even try-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jones…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone in the room immediately stilled, hearing the grating, weak voice. Ozzy seemed to forget about Maria and Drix, turned around on his heel and leaned over the virus. Maria wanted to step closer but Drix’s hand over her shoulder stopped her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of Thrax’s eye was lifted open a little. He was glaring at Ozzy with a smirk. “Found you,” he sighed and shut his eye down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy panicked a tiny bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Hey, you jerk, don’t pass out again.” He grabbed Thrax’s shoulders, shaking him a little. It made him scoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” groaned the virus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It actually made Ozzy smile. He turned toward Drix and Maria and his smile immediately faltered. He didn’t dare to move from his position, still leaning over the virus, as if this way he could stop Maria from doing anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gluteus should know about this. The mayor should know about this! You can’t expect me to keep such a… dangerous thing hidden from them!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please just, just one day. Let him stand on his legs at least.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always… looking good when begging, Jones,” chuckled Thrax and groaned painfully when Ozzy slapped him on the chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria was quiet for a moment. Then sighed, shaking her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You both don’t leave this place.” She pointed towards Jones and Thrax. “Me or Drix are always around. If he do something suspicious I’m calling the chief, understand?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy nodded, the smile slowly coming back on his face. He turned back to Thrax, his stand relaxing a little. Behind him Drix sighed, flicked the light on and moved to make some tea for Maria, the she-cell walking after him. Ozzy guessed that was the most privacy they will get currently, with both of his friends on the other side of the room. He sat down on his bed, by Thrax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, did you really search for me?” he asked with a smug smile. Thrax again lifted his eye a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to see my chain, baby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.” Jones’ smile crooked a little, knowingly, unconvinced. The next question fell from his lips almost on its own. “Did you hurt Frank? When you didn’t find me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thrax’s smirk fell, he frowned slightly. “I promised, yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but you know, never hurt to ask.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nuh huh uh,” mocked Thrax, making Ozzy slap him again. They both chuckled. The cuffs that kept Thrax’s unfrozen hand to the bed frame clinked. He hummed, clearly unhappy about the inconvenience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanna touch ya,” he hummed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awww,” cooed Jones, more in a mocking way than genuine. Thrax rolled his eyes, but obviously happily met Ozzy’s hand over his cheek. He leaned into the touch. “Don’t tell me you went soft without me around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Softer than you? Never.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haha, sure,” laughed Ozzy a little, before cupping Thrax’s face with both hands. He really wanted to lean closer now, but he could literally feel others presence in the room. It stopped him well from seeking anymore contact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll sleep some more baby,” hummed Thrax, his eyes closed again. Jones’ smile softened a little before he could notice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure big guy. You should.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a moment he could see how Thrax drifted off. He really wanted to ask what happened during those few months. How did he find him. Why was he hurt. But he knew it was better for the virus to rest for now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have nice coffee here,” declared Thrax with a cup in his hand. After some hesitation Drix and Maria agreed on uncuffing the virus from the bed. It was late morning already and Drix was out to get some food for them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thrax was acting tough but Ozzy could see an obvious stiffness in his movement. His torso was wrapped in bandages, there were also some wounds over his arms, marks on his back. It was difficult to look at but Ozzy couldn’t just ask about it. He felt like Thrax wouldn’t tell him with Maria around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Speaking of Maria, she was mostly quietly observing them. Thrax tossed some comments toward her but beside that they didn’t really interact. The virus didn’t leave the bed much too and Ozzy wondered if it’s because he didn’t want to fight with the she-cell or if he still felt too weak to move around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Drix gets it. He doesn’t want to tell where, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thrax hummed with acknowledgement and drank some more. He observed Ozzy putting a little too much sugar into his own cup before shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you two even get in here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy finished preparing his coffee and moved toward the desk. He leaned on it, sipping the drink before answering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were chasing a virus in Frank when a mosquito sucked us in and moved here. I wanted to come back, but…” Ozzy shrugged. “Drix liked it here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah of course,” smirked Thrax before continuing. “Another virus?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. More stupid than you but…” Ozzy looked over Thrax critically before smirking by himself. “Not as ugly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d love to see that,” hummed the virus. Ozzy smiled wider, hearing the jealous tone in his voice and proudly drank his coffee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maria shifted on her spot by the little kitchen they had in there. She probably felt the tension radiating from both of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully for her Drix came back not long after. He put the bags with food in the kitchen and Ozzy immediately jumped to help him get the food out. He could feel the hunger from the night hitting him hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard bacteria talking that you two become an especially annoying detectives,” noticed Thrax when he got a sandwich. Ozzy nodded, sitting by him on the bed and murmured something with full mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoying</span>
  </em>
  <span> is the right word here. We’re just good at catching criminals,” said Drix, sitting behind the desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what being annoying means around the bacteria,” pointed out Thrax, smiling cockilly. “So? What did you do around here then? I bet it was pretty boring without me, hmm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy stiffed and looked toward Drix. He saw Drix’s smile and huffed something toward the pill, still having way too much food in his mouth to communicate his thoughts. He knew Drix was probably annoyed by this situation and would do anything to bit back on Ozzy. Thrax read his struggle well, looking at Jones with lifted eyebrow. It made him prepare for something good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some stuff. Once Ozzy thought he got pregnant because he was infected with a parasite.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thrax choked with his sandwich before swallowing and looking over to Jones again. Ozzy managed to swallow too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! I was very emotional back then, okay?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The other day he almost turned into a female encoded cell,” joined Maria. Ozzy looked toward her, surprised she did so. He was sure she felt too uncomfortable around Thrax to talk, let alone tease him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. He got all pink and girly, we got pics.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could have died back then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I always knew Jones’ a sissy,” hummed Thrax. Ozzy glared at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh look who’s talking. Big daddy Thrax and his favourite necklace,” teased Ozzy, making Thrax chuckle. “Mister ‘get me a nail file and something sweet or I’ll go mad’ deadly virus Thrax.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time Thrax actually turned toward Ozzy, with an unamused smile and annoyed look. Jones, seeing that expression, chuckled nervously and bite his sandwich, deciding to shut up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two doesn’t want me here,” suddenly pointed out the virus, looking away from Ozzy only after a moment. No one disagree. “I don’t blame you. But I can assure both of you that I’m not planning anything in here. I need… vacation,” sighed Thrax. He was talking slowly, his words measured well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you really think anyone in the city will happily let you stay here? Just like that?” pointed out Maria, crossing arms over her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I could always make my stay here official, couldn’t I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy looked at Thrax with a frown. “Official? What do you mean, like, check in? Get a citizenship? You?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thrax looked at him again, this time smiling wider, showing off his teeth. He dropped his voice, leaning toward Ozzy a little. “Wouldn’t you like that, baby?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy shuddered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, hah, well-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not for longer than few weeks though,” said the virus straightening again, that look changing back into passive one. “Just rest some. Heal this nasty hole in my abdomen. Then I’ll see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy smiled a big, dumb smile and looked toward Drix. Drix sighed, massaging that spot between his eyes that always aches when Jones gets himself into troubles. He already knew Ozzy will do anything just to make that idea real.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t wait to see chief Gluteus’ face when he hear about that,” sighed Maria.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again, no one disagree. No one said ‘no, you are a virus, you can’t stay here even officially’. They just finished their food, let Thrax lay back down with some obvious difficulty and argued a little with Ozzy in the kitchen. Nothing of that made Jones less ecstatic about the idea. He got so excited he stopped even worrying about Drix and Maria being in the same room. After the discussion in the kitchen he just got on his bed, trapping Thrax under his body, obviously surprising the virus. He leaned close to his face, grinning widely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you really mean it?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thrax looked him over and smiled, moving his head a little. He dropped his voice, so only Ozzy could hear him. “I searched for you for three months baby, let me enjoy my victory for some time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so you searched for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> after all?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Because you have my chain- Fuck!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozzy stabbed Thrax’s abdomen and immediately jumped off of the bed. He smiled at the virus, showing him a finger, before waking away toward the window. He thought about what Drix said the day before, about acting addicted. Maybe he really was. All it took to make him feel better was a little bit of warmth, some scent, roughness under his fingers. He had those and he was again excited, again full of energy. He heard about having those around for so much longer than usual and he couldn’t wait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So yeah. He’d say he is indeed addicted. And, surprisingly, he didn’t mind.</span>
</p>
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